Iron Gods: Deus Ex Machina

Game Master Vanulf Wulfson

OoC discussion thread for GM Wulfson's Iron Gods: Deus Ex Machina play by post game.

Thank you all for agreeing to join me in this adventure. Unfortunately I have a meeting to go to in a few minutes check in here and ask any questions you might have and I'll get to them in the morning.
I should have the opening scene set up for the game by tomorrow afternoon and we'll get started then.

Hi everyone! Thrilled to be in this game with a cast of such high-quality characters. And big thanks to GM Wulfson for selecting me!

I think it might be a good idea to spend a few posts working out our character's relationships to each other? Most or all of us have lived in Torch for a good while, and some of you are in lines of work that would overlap with Frankie's goings-on.

Massive thanks to GM Wulfson for selecting me! I'm super stoked to be a part of this!

I agree Frankie; I haven't had a chance to look over the other players backgrounds but I think we should definitely work out how we all know each other.

Rovaan has a reputation for being a little strange (claiming he can talk to canines and hears spirits in the metal he works with) but he's a pretty likeable guy. I'll have a look over everyone else's characters in the next few hours and post my ideas.

Hey guys! Meloriel here, checking in as Eska. I'll have my full alias updated once I get access to my laptop again later tonight.

I'll give your background a read soon Frankie, but my characters a loner with a perpetual scowl. She's unfriendly and curt. Not mean, but she clearly doesn't want friends. If any of you know her it's cause you've seen her hauling smiths carts up and down black hill, or seen her rooting through the trash at the junkyard. Either way, I probably wasn't very nice to you.

Until Khonnir brought a robot into Torch. Then I curtly demanded I join you on your trip under the city. It was not a question.

OMG Rovaan, we look like siblings! Haha.

We do! That's awesome haha!

Rovaan may have had something to do with Eske, he spent a lot of time around the forges and if she was predominantly hauling their wares around they surely would have number into one another. Being a bit of a social outcast himself, Rovaan probably would have tried to befriend Eske even if his kindness fell on deaf ears.

Hello All!

Much appreciate the opportunity that GM Wulfson has given me.

Molly's profile is finished for any that might be interested.

She would be known around Torch as the unremarkable daughter of Tatiana Fairlocks, a local craftswoman known for utilizing the forges to create quality artisanal firearms. Tatiana recently passed away and Molly is looking to find her place in life.

So who wants to be friends with a unsure halfling who needs to find her confidence?

Just finished reading your backstory Frankie and Rovaan.

@ Frankie - I don't think I would have met Frankie except maybe in passing.

@ Rovaan - I definitely would have met, Rovaan. Sounds like you'd probably haul your own hear up to the Torch, but even if you do you would have noticed me hauling other people's stuff back and forth. I probably would have been SLIGHTLY less caustic to you, since we come from similar tribes. You definitely would have realized though, that where you embrace your powers and abilities, Eska feels shame about her own. She also hates technology and finds the fact that you work with them distasteful. You're probably my link to the others.

@ Molly - Not Eska! Although I loved your submission, Molly. Haha.

@Eska, Rovaan has no love for technology, he predominantly crafts weaponry and small trinkets. As an Oracle of Gorum, I imagine he would focus on making traditional weapons of war, and his background as a member of the Ghost Wolf tribe would further influence his belief that the robots in Numeria are a plague.

@Molly, Rovaan is desperate to make friends! His adolescent years were tougher than most, and a lot of the other teens probably ostracized him for his wierd behaviour. I can definitely see a friendship developing between our characters.

@ Rovaan - She'd agree with you about robots and technology, but Eska doesn't even like working metal as a smith. Which probably seems hypocritical since she has some really nice weapons. And if you mention the metal speaks to you? She'd definitely think you're cursed.

@Molly: Frankie is the friendly type, and knows a thing or two of not being entirely sure where one is supposed to be going in life. It's possible they are acquaintances, or even pals. Doubly so if Molly also likes to drink.

@Eska: Yeah, Frankie's friendly, but she's not the sort to push at people who clearly don't want the company. That said, met in passing seems possible, as Frankie's work often revolves around the scavenging trade. I also thought Eska might find it interesting that Frankie was famously/infamously nearly murdered by a robot once.

@Rovaan: Frankie's got a protective streak, so if Rovaan is desperate to find friends that's a pretty easy dynamic to build on if they've met.

@ Frankie - Oh, she would like THAT if she heard it. Eska's not one for gossip. I might have come to you as well after Khonnir discovers the robot with concerns about more robots being below Torch.

@ Rovaan: I think that could work out well. I can already see them as kids sneaking out at night. :) I think she would actually envy his affinity for metal. "Why won't the metal speak to me?"

@ Frankie: I don't see Molly as a drinker, but I'm sure she would be acquainted with Frankie.

We'll have to wait and see when Serinda checks in with you technology hating Luddites.

We'll have to wait and see when Serinda checks in with you technology hating Luddites.

Frankie is less "technology-hating" and more "has a healthy wariness for death-bots" but yeah, I do find it pretty hilarious that for the AP where typically folks are like "where are my rocket launchers and laser swords!?" we've got a bunch of characters who are like "perhaps those are Bad, Actually."

GM Wulfson wrote:

We'll have to wait and see when Serinda checks in with you technology hating Luddites.

Frankie is less "technology-hating" and more "has a healthy wariness for death-bots" but yeah, I do find it pretty hilarious that for the AP where typically folks are like "where are my rocket launchers and laser swords!?" we've got a bunch of characters who are like "perhaps those are Bad, Actually."

Not Molly. She'll have no issues with a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range. :)

"Hey, just what you see pal."

@Frankie, I can see Rovaan looking up to Frankie in a big way. The fact that she doesn't let her disability impair her at all would be inspiring to him, and probably would motivate him to accept his own strange gifts.

@Molly, yeah that totally works! I feel like Molly and Rovann would have a kind of 'next door neighbour' vibe, I think they'll be great friends!

I have had very little to do with this campaign, and everything I have read about Numeria implies that the technology has been an awful influence on the natives.I thought we were supposed to build robot-hating savages haha :)

Sorry for the long delay. Police, then work, then... Oy.

I could imagine anyone who asks around would learn that Serinda would be interested in going into the ruins to learn more. Or even heard she trades alchemical supplies. Her profile is complete, so it should be interesting.

The interesting thing is, Serinda is willing to risk people who don't particularly like what she is to find out more about what she is. So, she wouldn't necessarily like anyone else, but her goal rests on their success.

@Molly I could see Serinda speaking with her sometimes. I can also see Serinda being unable to understand Molly's issues.

@Frankie Frankie may have reason to be leery of Serinda, since Serinda is a bomb-throwing death-bot XD

@Eska Would it be possible Serinda and Eska have met? Maybe didn't get along because of Eska's views on technology.

@Rovaan Maybe Serinda and him met when she was shopping for her sword? Perhaps she even bought it from him?

@Serinda, that's a cool connection. If Rovaan crafted your sword then you know it's reliable :)

Gameplay thread is up.

There is a link to the map of Torch under the Campaign tab.

@ Serinda - I probably watch you SUPER WARILY every time I see you.

I kinda love Serinda's logic in that post.

"Hmm... Glaring, not leaking from the eyes... She must be hungry!"

She has so much to learn about the rest of the party...

Hangry is a human's most dangerous emotional state!

Haha. I like it too, Serinda!

Sorry for being a bit late to the encounter! I work weekends and it was a busy morning.

{rant] Okay, this leads me to one of my pet peeves about playing PbP. When people post that their character is moving and don't move their token on the map. I went ahead and moved those who had said they were moving but hadn't adjusted their tokens. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO DO THIS. If I move your token and something bad happens I don't want to hear someone say "Well that's not where I meant to go".
There's a map, PLEASE USE IT. [/rant]

{rant] Okay, this leads me to one of my pet peeves about playing PbP. When people post that their character is moving and don't move their token on the map. I went ahead and moved those who had said they were moving but hadn't adjusted their tokens. I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO DO THIS. If I move your token and something bad happens I don't want to hear someone say "Well that's not where I meant to go".

There's a map, PLEASE USE IT. [/rant]

Ah, apologies! I completely spaced about the map.

Oh, my bad. Won't happen again GM, I'm sorry!

Corrected where I placed Serinda. She's following Eska, after all.

Sorry about that. I had not paid attention enough to the token placement.

Hey all, I'm out of town for the next 48hrs. I can still post, but can't access Roll20 on my phone. Would it be easiest for you to bot me GM, or would you prefer I post my actions and you make the adjustments on the map?

Sort of similarly, the firewall on my work computer is *not* playing nice with Roll20. I'm going to fiddle with it's settings (if I just switch it off entirely my boss will murder me), otherwise I might not be able to post my action until I get home from work.

An android and a bot? Man, we're pulling a Skynet-slash-Bodysnatchers on this party! :p

Since it takes Rovaan a double move to reach the robot that's going to be his round #1 action. Frankie, post when you can. I'm not a fanatic about posting every day or posting for postings sake. I'm happy with 2-3 posts a week from players. Any less than that though and I start to get worried.

That's a relief; I've kinda churned out my last few posts here because I feared I'd be left behind. It's good to know I can take the time to put up more quality ones in future.

Are we back around to first initiative?

I believe so. I sent a PM to Serinda to see taunting the robot was all she was doing this round or not. Was waiting for the reply. Let me do an end of round summary when I get to work and then we can continue with round 2.

Roger, just checking in to make sure you weren't waiting on me to post my next move

Would Serinda be able to use her Knowledge(nature) skill to figure out where the caves are?

Argh. Trying to post in the game-play thread and it won't let me preview the post.

... and it looks like it won't let me preview it here either. :(

It's been like that since early this morning. If you submit your post you can go back in and edit it, then the preview button works.

Looking over some things on the Paizo boards and the internet this is what I've come up with in regards to Frankie's missing arm.

+5 DC to Climb and Swim checks
-4 CMB/CMD v Grapple checks
No TWf or 2-handed weapons
No shields
Cannot use Wrist/Hand slot magic items that require a pair to operate
1 Ring slot

Ah, cool! That sounds pretty fair. Thanks for the research. I only really thought to poke around on the SRD and couldn't find anything.

Blinded: The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength– and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character. Blind creatures must make a DC 10 Acrobatics skill check to move faster than half speed. Creatures that fail this check fall prone. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.

Gaze (Su): A gaze special attack takes effect when foes look at the attacking creature’s eyes. The attack can have any sort of effect; petrification, death, and charm are common. The typical range is 30 feet, but check the creature’s entry for details. The type of saving throw for a gaze attack varies, but it is usually a Will or Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 gazing creature’s racial HD + gazing creature’s Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature’s text). A successful saving throw negates the effect. A monster’s gaze attack is described in abbreviated form in its description. Each opponent within range of a gaze attack must attempt a saving throw each round at the beginning of his or her turn in the initiative order. Only looking directly at a creature with a gaze attack leaves an opponent vulnerable. Opponents can avoid the need to make the saving throw by not looking at the creature, in one of two ways.

Averting Eyes: The opponent avoids looking at the creature’s face, instead looking at its body, watching its shadow, tracking it in a reflective surface, etc. Each round, the opponent has a 50% chance to avoid having to make a saving throw against the gaze attack. The creature with the gaze attack, however, gains concealment against that opponent.

Wearing a Blindfold: The foe cannot see the creature at all (also possible to achieve by turning one’s back on the creature or shutting one’s eyes). The creature with the gaze attack gains total concealment against the opponent.

A creature with a gaze attack can actively gaze as an attack action by choosing a target within range. That opponent must attempt a saving throw but can try to avoid this as described above. Thus, it is possible for an opponent to save against a creature’s gaze twice during the same round, once before the opponent’s action and once during the creature’s turn.

Gaze attacks can affect ethereal opponents. A creature is immune to gaze attacks of others of its kind unless otherwise noted. Allies of a creature with a gaze attack might be affected. All the creature’s allies are considered to be averting their eyes from the creature with the gaze attack, and have a 50% chance to not need to make a saving throw against the gaze attack each round. The creature can also veil its eyes, thus negating its gaze ability.

So, we have a blind android throwing explosives.

This adventure just keeps getting better and better XD

Wait'll Molly reloads.

I know I said I'd give Rovaan til tomorrow to respond but this seemed like the safest course of action and I don't want the game to stall.
I'm going to give him until Monday to check in, otherwise I may have to consider replacing him.

It's been over a week without a post or response from Rovaan so in order to keep the game moving I've decided to replace him with Gimrund Anvilmar. For the sake of continuity, and my sanity, we'll just Retcon that Gimrund has been with you the entire time.